One Challenge. Miles of Stories.

Every one of the 47,000+ participants in the ING New York City Marathon participants has a story. So do the 8,000 volunteers who will support them, and two million spectators cheering along the 26.2-mile course, and anyone else who is touched by the life-changing spectacle that is the ING New York City Marathon. As Sunday, November 6, draws near, be inspired by these stories of courage, determination, humor, and the triumph of the human spirit.

Check back for a new story each weekday between now and Friday, November 4.

First to the Finish: UPS Business Manager Steve Culley
When you and your 47,000 fellow runners check your clear plastic UPS bags at Fort Wadsworth on Sunday, you can all set off on your five-borough journey knowing that it will be waiting for you in Central Park—thanks to the efforts of UPS Business Manager Steve Culley and his team. Culley has been involved with the ING New York City Marathon since 1996, and his 200-strong crew has made big strides over the past 15 years.
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Rethinking a Taboo Subject
Kevin Betts, 27, from Brighton, England, is running a marathon every weekend in 2011. That's right: 52 races totaling 1,362.4 miles. And by the way, he's vowed to do each of them in under four hours, or it won't count.
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Once a Lumberjack, Now at Top of Marathon Tree
Running the fastest marathon in history made Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai about $500,000 richer when he won the Boston Marathon in April. Not bad for a man who once worked as a lumberjack after injury stopped him from running.
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Let's Make Some Noise
As runners come off the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, they're often amazed at the deafening roar that greets them on First Avenue. Thousands of people line both sides of the street, hollering as loud as they can for each passing marathoner. Manhattan resident Lee Albertson and his family will be among the cheering throng-they couldn't imagine being anywhere else on the first Sunday in November.
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The Special Meaning of a Finisher Medal
On November 6, Greg Pratt, 71, of Orem, UT, will be running his 18th marathon and fifth New York City Marathon. He’s running this year as a member of NYRR’s Team for Kids, a group of adult runners from around the world who add meaning to their miles by raising funds on behalf of NYRR Youth and Community Services.
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Former Orienteer Puts Sweden on Marathon Map
By her own admission, Isabellah Andersson was not much of a runner when she was growing up in Kenya. “I was not good at all,” she says. That changed seven years ago, and all because of her interest in another sport.
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Marathon Mom Sits One Out
Fifth grade teacher Jen Lepori, 37, knows a thing or two about the ING New York City Marathon—she’s run it five times. “It’s the biggest, it’s the best, it’s my hometown race,” the New Jersey resident explains. But instead of toeing the line on Staten Island November 6, Lepori will be hollering from the sidewalk—she’s expecting her second child in February—and as a veteran marathoner and spectator, she’s got some valuable tips for the 2 million strong peanut gallery.
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“Little Rosa” Will Be Thinking Big on November 6
Her father used to call her “my little Rosa Mota,” and it was easy to understand why. Through her many running achievements up to the half-marathon distance, Jéssica Augusto promised much for the day when she would turn to the marathon.
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Just Can’t Get Enough
If you’ve spent any time perusing the ING New York City Marathon’s Facebook page, you’ve almost certainly encountered Runar Gundersen. With 33 consecutive Central Park finishes under his belt, he knows the course like few others—and his enthusiasm for the race is infectious.
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Running in Memory of Marathoner Dad
On November 6, when Nancy and Lisa Haystrand start running on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge alongside 47,000 other runners, they’ll be following in their father’s footsteps—literally..
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All in the Family: Butch Dudas
Adrenaline will be flowing throughout the start villages in Fort Wadsworth on November 6—just ask Butch Dudas. The 47-year-old, from Walkill, NY is thrilled to be participating in his second ING New York City Marathon.
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A Barber Trims his Mileage to Prepare for NYC Debut
If you think that training for a marathon is hard, what would you say to running 250 miles per week? That is what it takes to become a three-time winner of the world's best-known ultramarathon, the Comrades race in South Africa.
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Here's to the Volunteers
It's hard work running the ING New York City Marathon—and it's equally tough making the marathon run. New York Road Runners' 150 full-time employees take great pride in producing the race, with a lot of help throughout race week and on Marathon Sunday from more than 8,000 volunteers.
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It's Never Too Late
Every first-time marathoner lining up on Staten Island will have a different reason for taking on the 26.2-mile challenge: some are lacing up in support of a good cause, and others want to show the world that they're up to the task. Both of those describe Marjorie Kagan—and at age 81, she may be the oldest newbie in the pack.
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Sleeping Well and Dreaming of Great Things
One Monday night in 2004, when Bobby Curtis was a 19-year-old Villanova University student athlete, he was unable to sleep. So he went to bed early the next night, but still no sleep. Or the next night. "Within two or three days I was a wreck," he recalls. He was forced to withdraw from an indoor track meet in New York that weekend, and he continued to battle insomnia for months. "I went through the wringer," he says. "I ended up taking off spring semester of my sophomore year."
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National MS Society
Lauren Caiella, 28, of Jersey City, NJ, is running her first marathon on November 6, and she will be lacing up on behalf of the National MS Society. Caiella's mom, Carol, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 30. MS is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision.
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Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge Team
Meet the 2011 Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge team: five runners—one from each borough of New York City—who have drawn inspiration from running in order to face a significant hardship. On November 6, they will be a part of the 2011 Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge, a race within the ING New York City Marathon.
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A Runner with Promises to Keep
With his 40th birthday approaching, James Lehouiller knew he had to make good on a promise. A friend of his agreed to donate $10,000 to charity if Lehouiller ran the ING New York City Marathon by the time he turned 40. Lehouiller would get to select the charity. But if Lehouiller didn't run, he would donate $5,000 to his friend's favorite charity. To Lehouiller, it sounded like a win-win. "The great part," he says, "is that the winners' take will be donated to charity."
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Running to Heal
Reaching the starting line of a marathon is the culmination of months of hard work and sacrifice, and for many, it's a leap of faith. Few people participating in this year's ING New York City Marathon know that better than Kevin Dwyer, who's running with Team Boomer to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research. Dwyer is not just a fundraiser; he's also a cystic fibrosis (CF) patient.
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Running to Open Doors and Change Lives
In 1994, Tegla Loroupe ran so effortlessly over the 26.2 miles of the New York City Marathon course that her feet seemed barely to touch the pavement. When she crossed the finish in Central Park in 2:27:37, more than two minutes in front of the next woman, the 21-year-old Kenyan became the first-ever African woman to win a major marathon.
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